National Republican., 1887-01-08
THE SOUTH CAROLINA METHOD.
Collecting Testimony OF Democratic
Frauds in Noyember Last,

Frauds In November Last.
Congressman smalls will begin to day to
take testimony on his election contest. He
has forty days for this work and then Col
Elliot Will answer. "The testimony" said
Mr.. Smalls, "will show up some Demo-
cratic election methods which will surprise
the northern people who are talking senti-
mentally about Mr.. Grady's speech on the
progress OF the south and the honesty of It's
elections. IL will exhibit a state Of things
even worse thao the most partisan OF the
northern Republican press have yet charged
The respectable Democrats In my district
are ashamed OF their party, for every one Of
them knows we'll that with fair count my
majority would have been $4,000. The
total number OF voters Ia 5000; OF those
fully four-fifths are negroes, aud, besides,
there Ia considerable number of white Re-
publicans. The extent OF the frauds prac-
tised In order to take away such
majority as $4,000 was so
great that | doubt II IL has an equal
IN the history OF American politics. All
the old fraudulent practices were resorted
to and some new ones introduced, which
for ingenuity have seldom been equaled.
No attempt was made even to keep up an
appearance Of fairness iu many precincts,
but frauds were indulged In right and left,
openly and shamelessly. | have cited
plenty OF examples In my bill Of particulars,
but will only mention one now-an in-
stance OF Dallot.box stulllng OF the most
approved order. In one precinct, when the
votes were counted, 1t was found that there
were hundred ballots in excess of the
registered vote. According to law one
hundred ballots were then drawn from the
box ''indiscriminately" and destroyed
Now, II there had been any pretense OF
honesty, fair number OF Col. Elliot's bal
lots should have come forth with mine, but,
as matter Of fact, every siugle ballot
drawn out to be destroyed had my name on
1t. How was Il done just this way. The
election judges picked out 100 Of my bal
lots, laid them carefully on top, then
reached iu and pulled them out. As you
know. all the commissioners and judges
are Democrats, so they can make
an election turn any way they
wish. They could just as easily have
given Col. Elliot every votein the district,
aud what they did was hardly less daring
and fraudulent. Then l lost thousands OF
votes by the action of the Democratic
judges IN not opening the polls In precincts
where the population was almost entirely
colored. This open breach of the law was
practiced extensively, and should, by itself,
convince any fair. minded man that there
was uOJ nj nOnesb elecJlOn IN my district.
will not enter into details now, as prefer
to have everything charged come out In
the testimony OF persons less interested In
the election contest than am. II you will
just take a few figures from this paper,
however, you can Judge Of the queer way
they count votes down In South Carolina.
The whole voting population OF the state ia
205, 7S9. OF those the negro vote is l1S, $3.50,
and the white vote $4,000. Allow 5000
colored Democrats-a very extravagant
estimate--and there are 113,SS9 Republican
voters left, without counting the white Re.
publicans Well, cir, although the colored
people were enthusiastic over Blaine in the
last presidential election, and were well
organized, the vote allowed to Mr.. Blaine
was 2l,733, or less than one fifth Of the
natural Republican vote The Democratic
majority by the official returns was over
$4,000. How honest people can look at
those hguares and not protest against the
Democratic methods that hold sway in
South Carolina cannot understand.
The returns from few voting precincts
show how things were managed
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